Spike: The Gathering Time
by RedScarlette217
Summary: completed This is a Spike spinoff. there are some characters from angel and buffy but it mainly about spike and what happens to him after angel's last season.
1. Chapter One: The Storyteller

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of these characters I just love them so much. I do own Cassie, but you won't see her for a bit. I'm putting this under buffy but there are characters from angel as well. This is kind of like a Spike spin-off. please review, I wanna know you think.

"Deep in the streets of New York there is talk of a dark cloaked warier who fights the good fight against the forces of darkness and protects the innocent from the sinister forces, all the while seeking the redemption of his sorted and evil past. He is the vampyr with a soul, the tortured yet witty fighter who stands for justice. He is Spike, the champion warier."

Several girls, all teenaged, stared up with awe at the "storyteller" waiting for the next chapter of the story. They didn't wait in vain.

"Once he was William the bloody. Killing anything that came into his sight, but now tortured with a soul he struggles to find his place in the world and the right woman to fill his unbeating heart with love. He saved the world from the First and came back to fight evil lawyers in LA. But now he has his eyes set on the evil that lay in the big city."

"Tell us again how he destroyed Sunnydale," one of the girls begged.

"Oh, it was magnificent. He put his heart out and beat them away with a burst of pure light."

"Andrew! Are you telling stories again?" Dawn Summers questioned as she entered the four bedroom apartment on the streets of Italy.

"Dawn! I was just getting to the good part." Andrew whined and crossed his arms like a child.

Ever since the Scooby gang had saved the world from ending in Sunnydale they parted ways in search of newly activated slayers. Andrew, not wanting to be alone in the good search, followed Dawn and her sister, Buffy the original slayer, to Italy. They had gathered five girls and were training them by day. Andrew, not having any superpowers of his own, felt content filling the girls in on their destiny by telling stories of the fateful last years of Sunnydale, California, before the hellmouth opened and sucked the town down into it.

"Well, story time is over. You guys have some training to do," Dawn said looking at the slayers.

"Where's Buffy?" One of the girls asked.

"Right here." Buffy Summers said walking in the room. "We need a conference. Why don't you girls start doing the calisthenics training in the other room?"

The five girls all retreated to the workout room, knowing that when Buffy called a meeting it was always important.

"Willow says there is another activated slayer," she paused, "In New York."

"That's were Spike is," Andrew said, stating the obvious.

"Are you going?" Dawn asked shyly. They never spoke about Spike, even after Andrew told them that he was alive and in LA with Angel. The subject was still a sore on with Buffy.

"Actually I was going to send you," Buffy said looking at her sister with a sweet smile.

"I can't go. I have tons of school stuff. Besides you never travel anymore. I bet you Spike isn't anywhere near where the new slayer is," Dawn said quickly.

"I don't think I want to take the chance. I'm happy now, and in love. I don't really want to open up old wounds." Buffy said with a sad smile.

The three were silent for a moment, but like always Andrew broke it. "I'll go. I've never been to New York. I hear it's beautiful in the winter."

"It's not winter." Dawn said.

"Well, if it's beautiful in the winter than it must be beautiful in the fall." Andrew bumbled, as always.

Buffy stared at him for a while, debating the issue in her head. "Fine. But all you do is bring her here. Got it?"

"Yes, commander. I'll follow my orders to the death." Andrew said with a salute.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

Andrew smiled with glee. His very own mission and he would make the best of it.


	2. Chapter Two: But I'm a good guy!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the characters except Cassie. Please review.

The dark, murky streets of New York City stunk of sewage and impending danger. Through the darkness and mist a young girl ran her heart beating feverishly as she stole a glance behind her. She knew that her pursuer was close and would soon be able to tackler her onto the hard pavement so she pushed herself more and ran. She turned down an alley and ran into the metal fence at the end of it, exhaustion almost getting the best of her. She turned and put on her best game face. She couldn't run anymore, but she wasn't going to go down without a fight.

A dark figure turned around the corner and slowed it's pace acknowledging the fact that he had his prey caught. He closed in on her, letting the demon inside of him transform his face. He had bloodlust in his eyes and could feel her heart pounding with fear feet away from him.

"You put of a good fight, little lady. But now's time for the fun part," he said showing his jagged teeth through a joyful grin. He had won. She was his…dinner that is.

"Now, this is a sight to see."

Both the girl and the vampire looked towards the entrance of the alley with surprise.

"Here I've been in this marvelous city for two months and I haven't found anything worth killing. But this, now this is marvelous."

"Who are you?" The vampire asked, taken a little aback by the stranger's presence.

"The name's Spike. I would ask for your name, being polite and all, but you won't be alive long enough." He lunged forward knocking the vampire down and began to throw some punches at its face.

The vampire shove kicked Spike off of him and lifted his leg to kick him. Spike saw the move coming and grabbed his leg snapping it with a crunch. He then pulled a wooden stake out of his black leather duster and drove it into the vampire's heart. The vampire burst into dust.

"Well, that was..." Spike began before being smacked in the head with a sneakered foot. He cursed himself for not seeing the vampire's buddy. Then he looked up and it wasn't a vampire at all, but the girl he had just saved. "What the hell was that for? I just saved you."

"Saved me so that you can kill me yourself, vampire," She said standing in a read pose, one fist in front of the other.

Spike gave a short laugh as he got to his feet. "Okay, sparkey. Stand down. I'm a good guy."

"What? There are no such things as good vampires." She said.

Spike looked at her. "Actually there are two of us. Not very popular amongst our kind of course."

"Vampires are vampires." The girl said with hate.

"Actually there is a distinction. I have a soul," He said his British accent thick.

"You drink blood?" She asked.

"Well, yeah, but…"

She high kicked him on the side of the head.

He stumbled a little and grabbed his head. "Would you stop that? I'm good. Do you understand what I'm saying to you?" He yelled.

She raised her leg to kick him again but he caught it. She spun free and went back to her fighting stance.

"Why would I save you if I was evil?" Spike asked.

"Re: see above. So you can kill me for yourself." She said.

"So I would pick you to kill over the thousands of other people that would exert a lot less energy?" He asked frustrated.

"Because I can kill your kind." She said pointingly.

Spike stared at her for a moment as the realization hit him. "You're a slayer."


	3. Chapter Three: Dreaded Phone Calls

Spike stared at the girl in disbelief. He knew that Willow had activated all of the potential slayers and he even had a run in with an insane one, but for one to be in the exact same city as him, just by luck, was unbelievable.

"What's a slayer?" The girl asked, curiosity showing in her eyes.

"How can you know what vampires are but not slayers?" Spike asked. "Slayer. It's a girl chosen to fight against the bad guys. She has," he paused searching for the right words, "Superpowers."

"And you think I'm one of these slayers?" She asked.

"Pretty sure, yeah. There was originally only supposed to be one, but that changed. Funny story actually how it happened."

"You're just stalling me so I won't kill you." She said angrily getting ready to strike.

"No actually I'm telling the truth. And I'm also telling the truth when I say that I don't want to hurt you." Spike said slowly.

"Well, I want to hurt you." She lunged forward and attacked with some punches and kicks, all of which Spike avoided or blocked.

He swung her around and smacked her head into the brick wall next to them. She passed out and fell to the ground. "Sorry, luv. But I'm not in for a fight with a slayer right now."

Spike hurried to the entrance of the alley and glanced back at the girl. He knew that she would come to any moment now, so he didn't have much time to get away. He stopped himself once he was back onto the street and debated going back. She was lying there open for any attack. But then he realized that she would go for him the second she came to. "She's a slayer. She can handle herself," he said to himself.

He continued down the street, not looking forward to what had to happen next. He knew that he would have to make a phone call that he knew he wasn't ready for. But Buffy needed to know about the girl.

He found his way back to his small basement apartment and threw his leather duster onto the couch. He had found the apartment out of pure coinincidence. His first night in New York was filled with fighting and the last human he defended happened to own an apartment building. The man offered him a cheap rate for having saved his life, and Spike had a new pad. The apartment looked almost exactly like the one Lindsey, posing as a friend, had given him in LA; which meant that it was scarcely decorated and the fridge was filled with blood. Pig's blood of course. He looked through his things and found the paper with the number on it and picked up his phone.

It rang a few times before someone answered. "Hello?"

Spike smiled at the familiar voice. "Hey, Little Bit."

"Spike," Dawn said a smile in her voice. "How are you?"

"Pretty good. Avoided an apocalypse, so I figured a new city was in order."

"Right, you moved to New York. So, how is the big apple?"

Spike frowned. "How did you know where I was?"

"Oh," Dawn paused. "Angel kinda told us. He called a few weeks ago to let us know what happened in LA."

_Sodden Angel_, Spike thought. "Anyway. I've got a problem here. Is…is Buffy around?"

"No, she's…out." Dawn hesitated. "You're problem doesn't have anything to do with the new slayer does it?"

"Now I think you read minds. Yeah, she nicely gave me a kick in the head. Literally." He said.

"Yeah, Willow told us yesterday."

"So, is…will…someone should come and get her." Spike said, not knowing what to say. The thought of seeing Buffy again gave him a jolt of adrenaline. But he knew that it could never work.

"We already sent someone." Dawn said.

Spike didn't like the sound of her voice. "Who?"

"Andrew." She said a little too chirpy.

"You sent Andrew? I thought you want to train her not drive her insane," Spike said.

"He's really turned around. You know, you saw him. And he's excited to see you. You two seemed to have bonded. Which is more than a little scary. Anyway, he should be there tomorrow." Dawn said.

"Right. So I look for the boy wonder and point him in the right direction. Thank, Dawny."

"Not a problem." She paused. "Spike?"

"Yeah?"

"We miss you. All of us." Dawn said sincerely.

"I miss you two. Tell Buffy," he paused. "Naw, don't tell her anything."

"Bye, Spike."

"Bye." Spike hung up the phone and thought for a moment. He missed being in the real action, but that always revolved around Buffy. He still couldn't figure out if his feelings for her were really genuine, but they were the only feelings that ever mattered for anything in his life. And he missed them.


	4. Chapter Four: New Teacher

"The streets smelled of garbage and the men had evil in their hearts. I am merely a servant like the fearless Frodo bringing the dangerous ring to Mount Doom; avoiding evil and anything that…"

A man in a dark coat smacked into Andrews arm in mid sentence. "Watch where you're going," the man yelled with a gesture of his arm in frustration.

Andrew glanced nervously around. The streets of New York were nothing like he expected. They were dark and dank and he…he wanted to go home. But he had a mission so he went on. Willow had said that the slayer was somewhere by 6th Ave., so he made his way there. After a few moments of walking he spotted a group of guys pulling something out of a storefront and throwing it into a van.

"Crime. It disgusts me." He said in his best hero voice. "Who is there to stop it? No caped crusader, just me…Andrew, demon expert and sometime slayer." He charged forward.

Once he reached the men he yelled. "Hey! You gonna pay for that?"

The group of four men looked up at him with the faces of demons. They were vampires.

Andrew inched back. "Cause, you know that's okay. I was just…you know…" He turned and ran.

Three of the vamps followed him and within seconds caught him by the coat jacket.

But then, one was dusted from behind to reveal a young girl. Her brown hair was cut to her shoulders, and she looked way too young to be a threat.

"Looky here. The stupid one has a girlfriend." One of the vamps said.

"Girlfriend. Really? Do I look dorky enough to date him?" She asked and then lunged forward placing a double kick into the vamp.

He regrouped quickly and threw some precise punches. But the girl was quicker than she looked and dodged them easily. She reached for a wooden stake that she kept by her belt and charged it at him, dusting him. She then went after the other one, placing a few precise punches and kicks till she got him cowering against a wall. She then threw her stake into its heart. The vamp exploded into dust, the stake falling into the pile.

She turned to the other vamp, who had stayed behind at the van, protecting whatever it was that they were trying to steal. She took some steps toward him. "Whatcha got there?" She asked in a sweet and innocent voice.

"Why don't you come and find out?" The vamp said egging her on for a fight.

She charged at him knocking him off balance with spinning kick, but he recovered and grabbed her arm bending it in a way it shouldn't. The girl cried in pain and searched for a way to get free.

Andrew ran to her rescue, but the vamp knocked him out with his free arm.

The vamp then pulled his free arm around her neck, cutting off her air supply. The girl struggled to get some air. For the first time in a while, she thought that she was going to loose the fight.

"Hey! Pick on someone your own size!"

The vamp and the girl looked over to the new player. The girl remembered him from the night before.

The vamp realizing that he would have to let go of the girl in order to attack Spike, braced himself for any hits. And hits are what he got. Spike side kicked him in the back. The girl fell from his grip and stumbled to the ground trying to regain the breath that he stole. Spike then attacked at full force, giving a few punches and kicks before finally throwing the vamp into the brick wall next to them. Spike looked around for a stake, but didn't need to. The girl got to her feet and plunged her stake into the vamps heart.

Spike looked at the girl, who was still struggling to steady her breathing, for a few moments before he heard the soft whimpering off to the side. He looked over and saw Andrew struggling to get up. He walked over to him. "Aren't you supposed to be here to help her?"

"Oh, fair Spike. I tried, but they were strong," Andrew said taking Spikes hand that helped him to his feet. "It's good to see you."

"Yeah." Spike said. He looked back to the girl. "You okay?"

She looked over at the two of them. "Yeah." She coughed a little.

"You must be our fair slayer." Andrew said walking up to her. "I'm Andrew, your guide to the training facility."

"There's that word again," She looked at Spike, "he with you?"

"Well, more or less. He works with the slayer in Italy. That's where you're going, to be trained."

"Listen buddy, I don't need to be trained. And I still have a bump from last night by the way."

"Not my fault. You wanted to kill me." Spike said.

"Because you're a vampire." She said, as-a-matter-of-factly.

"How many bloody times to I have to tell you. I'm a good guy." Spike yelled walking over the van the vamps had.

The girl looked over at Andrew. "It's true. Spike has a soul. He fights the forces of darkness along with the slayer." He said.

"Fine. Whatever." She turned to leave.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Andrew yelled.

"I'm going to look for some vampires that are actually bad, so I can kill them." She said.

Spike reached into the van as the two behind him began to bicker. He pulled out what the vamps had stolen. It was an old wooden sword with several inscriptions on it. They looked Latin, but he couldn't be sure.

"What's that?" Andrew asked looking over at Spike.

"I don't know. But if those vamps wanted it then I think we should find out." He said looking the sword over.

"We?" The girl asked.

"Lesson the first. A slayer does much more than just run around looking for vampires to kill. This is something and we need to find out what it is and why they wanted it." Spike said staring at the girl.

"Lesson? What are you teaching me now?" She asked sternly.

Spike stopped and thought for a moment. He should just send her off with Andrew to Italy and let Buffy handle her, but he might need her help with whatever the sword entailed. Usually when a vamp goes far enough to steal something, especially something as old as the sword was, it was used in some sort of apocalyptic way.

"For now. Let's go." He started off in the direction of an old occult book store he knew about. He stopped and turned back to the girl. "What's your name?"

She stopped and gave him a surprised look. "Lisa…Lisa Stanners."

"Nice to meet you, Lisa Stanners. I'm Spike" He said holding out his hand.

She cautiously took it. "Okay, teach. Where we going?"


	5. Chapter Five: Lesson the Second

The trio walked down the streets of New York heading towards _Ancient Books_, the shop that Spike had noticed across the street from his apartment when he moved in.

"So this is like a freaks bookstore?" Lisa asked.

Spike glanced at her, not knowing what to think of her yet. She had the slayer sarcasm but she seemed way too jumpy. There was definitely something else going on with her. "They deal with ancient texts."

"And we are going to look through all these books to find the one we need?" She asked. "Seems like a waist of time. We could just find the rest of the vamps and dust them."

"You have a lot to learn, my padewan," Andrew chimed in.

Spike gave him a sideways glance.

"I mean Spike's padewan." He corrected.

"What the hell's a pedwan?" Lisa asked as a woman bumped into Spike.

"Sorry." The woman said looking up.

Spike stopped for a moment but she kept walking in the opposite direction.

"Know her?" Lisa asked, eyebrows raised.

"Come on." Spike said continuing on.

They reached _Ancient Books_ and to everyone but Spike's surprise, it was still open.

"It's 2am. What ever happened to normal business hours?" Lisa asked following Spike inside.

"Evil never sleeps." He said glancing over the titles of some books.

"Can I help you?"

The three looked over at the young man. He was tall with black hair and powerful green eyes.

"I'm Cain, I run this place." He said with a smile. "I know every book here."

Spike looked him over curiously. He smelled human, but something seemed off about him. "Just looking." He turned back to the books. He reached up for the Draggoon Collection Of Weapons and his duster moved revealing the sword he had put by his belt.

"Now that's cool. Early 1500s I think." Cain said eyeing the sword.

Spike quickly covered it. "Family heirloom."

Cain nodded and headed to the back of the store.

"He's a little too friendly." Lisa said as she stared at another stack of books. "Can this help?" She asked grabbing a book and showing it to Spike. It was an encyclopedia of swords.

"Possibly. Look for anything resembling it."

She took the book over to the table in the center of the store and flipped through the pages.

Andrew grabbed a book on Ancient Languages. "The inscriptions looked like a mix of Latin and Cavniquois. That's an ancient demon language. I'll see if there's anything in here." He sat down next to Lisa.

Spike flipped through several books to no avail. He slammed down the last book frustrated.

"Calm down, Sparky. We'll find it." Lisa said pulling a lollipop out of her pocked. She pulled the wrapper off and stuck it in her mouth.

Spike stared Lisa and Andrew as they went through some books. It was like the Scooby gang all over again.

"Hey, thought this might help," Cain said reappearing. He put three old texts down on the table.

"You don't even know what we're looking for." Lisa said.

"I'm guessing you're trying to identify that nifty sword. It's used in an old Gracian ritual involving the demon Baslock. These are books on the ritual and the demon." Cain said smiling like a nerd with homework.

"Thanks." Andrew said grabbing a book.

"You must really know you're lore. You only got a quick glimpse of it." Spike said suspiciously.

"What can I say? I'm observant." Cain said seriously, but kept his smile.

"He's right. That's it." Andrew said showing the book to Spike. "The demon Baslock is said to open a gateway to hell. a sacrifice of fresh human blood and the fresh remains of a vampire open it."

"Where can it be opened?" Lisa asked interested.

Andrew read a little and then looked up at Spike. "Ancient hollowed ground."

"There's an ancient Native American burial ground not far from here." Cain said. "It was built over by a steel company, but it's still hollowed ground. I think."

Spike looked at him still very suspicious, but he _was_ helping. "Where?"

Cain told him and even offered to drive.

"Should we take the sword with us?" Andrew asked.

Cain looked over at Spike with intensity.

"I think I'd like to keep it with me, for safe keeping. So yeah." Spike said, noticing Cain's motions the whole time.

"We get to kill things now?" Lisa asked.

"No, first we look. See who we're up against. You need to know what you're fighting." Spike said.

"Let me guess. Lesson the second?"


	6. Chapter Six: Surprise

The Westberg Steel Plant was on the outskirts of the city. There were huge warehouses as well as several large piles of steel around the grounds.

Spike glared down at the plant, not really knowing what to look for. He had assumed the role of leader of this little group reluctantly. But who else would lead them? Andrew? He longed for Lisa's "go, fight, kill!" mentality but he knew that he couldn't put her life in danger. Buffy would never forgive that.

He spotted a couple of vamps over by the entrance to one of the buildings. "Vamps, two of them over there."

"We should go dust them." Lisa said pulling a wooden stake from her belt.

"There are probably more of them. We should lay low." Spike said.

"Like hide? Hell no!" Lisa said stepping forward.

Spike grabbed her arm. "Now's not the time, pet."

Lisa sighed and raised her arms in defeat.

"Do you really think vampires are behind this?" Cain asked.

"Why not?" Spike asked bitterly.

"It just seems like a tight operation. Too tight for a bunch of vampires, if you ask me." He said.

"For your information, vampires could be masterminds. I've seen it." Andrew said fidgeting a little as he always did when he was trying to be stern.

"Okay, if you say so." Cain said with his stupid smile.

"Helpful boy may be right." Spike said. "There might be someone stronger behind this operation. We should wait."

"Or not."

Spike turned in time to see a vamp grab a hold of Lisa and another one knock out Andrew. He threw a few punches at the one coming after him, but the vamp countered. Suddenly he felt a small sting and looked down to see a tranquilizer bullet in his chest. He fell to his knees and glanced up at Cain who held the gun.

"Sorry, buddy."


	7. Chapter Seven: Trapped

Spike was in Sunnydale, in an unfamiliar house holding Buffy as she cried. He never wanted to leave that moment. She was there, actually there with him. She held his arm for strength and he, for the first time, wanted nothing else. He didn't need to kiss her or make love to her. He just had to be there. He loved that moment for what it was.

Spike groaned as his conscience mind pulled him out of his last true moment and back to the present. He struggled to open his eyes and looked around his prison. They were in a small bare room with stained gray walls. Lisa was to his right. She wasn't conscious but he could tell she was alive. Andrew was huddled in a corner, his knees pulled up hiding his face.

"Andrew?" Spike asked gaining more stability every second.

Andrew looked over at him, tears in his eyes. "Oh, thank god, Spike. You okay?"

Spike nodded and crawled over to Lisa.

"She won't wake up, I tried."

Spike lifted her head and shook her a bit. "Lisa, wake up."

She groaned and whispered something about five more minutes.

"Come on, pet. You need to wake up so we can get the hell out of here." Spike said softly.

Lisa shook her head back and forth a few times before opening her eyes. She jumped up and stood in an attack position as she looked around. "What happened?"

"Vampires. They came from behind us. They must have seen us drive up." Andrew said standing.

Spike also stood. "We were set up."

"What?" Lisa asked relaxing a little.

"It was that guy, Cain. He shot me with a tranq ." Spike said looking around for a way out. He walked over to the only possible exit, a door, and tried to open it. It was made of thick steel and wouldn't budge.

"So, he led us straight here? I knew he was way too friendly." Lisa said.

"Is he a vampire or, like, a demon in disguise?" Andrew asked.

"Neither, I don't think. He smelled completely human." Spike said still looking over the door.

"A human working with the evil bad guys dealing with the occult? Come on." Lisa said with a roll of the eyes.

Andrew fidgeted a little. "It could happen."

"Not mentioning the past," Spike glanced over at Andrew, "It does seem sort of strange."

"The sword!" Lisa yelled. "Do you still have it?"

Spike shook his head "no." He had already checked when he came to.

"Well, that sucks. Now he's going to open a freaky gate to hell and I bet you we're the sacrifices." Lisa sighed defeated.

"Lesson number three." Spike said as he ran his hands over the sides of the door. He found a little lever that he pushed up. There was a loud click as the door unlocked. "Never give up." He pulled the door open and glanced around for anyone. "Clear."

"That seemed a little too easy." Lisa said following Spike out.

"I guess we weren't that important. I mean no guards?" Andrew whispered.

"Now that would be stupid."

The three turned to look at Cain who stood in front of a group of blood hungry vampires, ready to pounce.


	8. Chapter Eight: Unbeatable Foe

Spike glared at Cain whose smile no longer looked innocent but menacing. "Who are you?"

"Cain's the name. Pain's my game." He said with a laugh. "Humor! I love it! Humans do it so easily, crack a joke. It's wonderful."

"What are you if not human?" Lisa asked staying ready for battle.

"But I am human, honey." He smiled. "I'm sure your vampire friend here could tell that."

"What are you?" Spike repeated Lisa's question. He knew there was something else going on.

"Oh you people!" Cain yelled looking up in frustration. "Did it ever cross your minds that you're asking the wrong questions?"

Spike stared at him, not understanding.

Andrew cleared his throat. "What did you used to be?" He asked slowly.

Cain looked at him, tilting his head a bit to the side. "Ding! Ding! And the nerd gets it!" He laughed. "I was the demon."

"You mean a demon." Spike growled.

"No, puppy. I was a being before all. Before demon-human mutts, even before the ancient ones. I was the first, created as a vessel for evil." Cain spat out the words with detest. "And now I want to go home."

"You're insane." Lisa said.

"Maybe. But I'm not the one about to die. Get them."

The vampires lunged forward.

"But remember. Keep the vampire and the girl alive." Cain said standing off to the side. He grabbed the wooden sword from its place on a wooden crate and sat back, waiting to use it.

Four vampires went after Spike and Lisa. They took two at a time and traded off frequently. Neither side had the advantage as they threw punches and then dodged them.

Only one went after Andrew, Cain obviously not seeing him as a threat. The vamp attacked but Andrew dodged down and rolled away. He stumbled across wooden pieces from a crate that had been smashed. He took a look think piece in his hands and rolled onto his back as the vamp grabbed him. The vamp pulled him up by the shirt collar and pulled him forward to bite him. Andrew forced the wooden piece forward, hoping to hit the heart. The vamp got a shocked look on his face as he exploded into dust. Andrew fell to the ground and attempted to catch his breath. He looked over at Lisa and Spike who were still fighting.

Andrew grabbed another wood piece and stood behind one of the vamps as Lisa kicked him back. Andrew shoved the wood into its back and watched it turn to dust. Lisa gave him a smile of thanks as he tossed her the wood and she plunged it into a vampire's heart as it charged her. She then turned and grabbed one that was fighting with Spike. She fought with him for a while before staking him at the same time Spike staked the one he was fighting with.

Lisa smiled over at Spike and he couldn't help but smile back.

"Now that sucks." Cain said putting the sword to the side. "Now I have to get my hands dirty." He stepped forward.

Spike stepped to meet him and quickly placed a punch in Cain's gut.

"Oh, ouch." Cain said not even wincing. "Just to let you know." He leaned forward. "I'm a lot stronger than I look." He raised his hand and punched Spike sending him flying backwards. "You can't fight me!" He yelled. "I'm the beginning of power. Cainivious the Great!" He said as he walked over to Spike who was still trying to recover. He lifted him above his head. "You are nothing, mutt!"

"Hey! Angry Boy!"

Cain looked over at Lisa.

She stood a little ways away, standing with Andrew. She held the wooden sword in her hands. "You need this?"

"Put that down, little girl!" He yelled still holding Spike up.

"Little? You're not my daddy!" She yelled as she lifted her leg and broke the sword in half over her knee. A bright green light jumped out of it and Cain screamed "No" as he threw Spike.

Cain stood there glaring at Lisa. "You'll pay for that." He looked over at Spike who was struggling to his feet. "I will find a way home, and I promise I'll kill you all in the process." He said before he took off running like a little kid in the other direction.

Lisa and Andrew ran over to Spike.

"I'm fine. He was just…strong." Spike said.

"We need to get out of here." Lisa said helping Spike walk.

Andrew grabbed the two discarded pieces of the sword and ran to catch up with them.


	9. Chapter Nine: Our Gang

Andrew opened the door to Spike's apartment and Lisa led Spike in still giving him support. She helped him sit down at the kitchen table.

"Will you be okay?" She asked sitting down next to him, the worry seeping through her voice.

"Fine. Just need some rest." Spike winced. He had never felt strength or power like that, even from Glory and she was a god.

"Tonight was intense." Andrew said sitting down.

"At least we got a car out of it." Lisa smiled. The car that Cain had driven them in was still where they left it, with the keys inside. So they "borrowed" it. "So, what's next?"

"If not mistaken. Research mode." Andrew said.

"He slipped up. Called himself Cainivious the Great. We could start there." Spike said.

"Cool." Lisa said grabbing a lollipop out of her pocket and shoving it into her mouth. "We can get started tomorrow."

Spike glanced at her. "You'll be on a plane to Italy tomorrow."

She stared at him. "But…I can't leave."

"Yes, you can. And you have to. Buffy needs to start training you."

She was silent for a moment. "I thought you were going to train me?"

"You tried to kick my ass less than 48 hours ago. I think we might have some trust issues. Besides, you'll be better off with her." He paused. "Safer."

"He's right." Andrew said reluctantly.

Lisa thought about this. "Okay, so I've never seen anything like that guy tonight. And he whipped your ass pretty good. The way I see it, you need me and I can train during off times." She paused. "I don't want to go."

Spike looked at her knowing that her staying here was a bad idea. He didn't want to put her life at risk, but he knew that he could use the help. "There are some major conditions." He said defeated. "You listen to me. Do exactly what I say. If I'm going to train you, I'm going to do it right. And once Cain is out of the picture, you go and don't ask questions. Clear?"

Lisa smile. "Yes, sir." She said with a salute. She sucked loudly on the lollipop.

"And no more damn lollipops. You need to look tougher. Be tougher. Or you'll always be a target."

Lisa sighed and tossed the lollipop into the garbage, knowing she would make it in and she did.

"So, I guess I'm going back empty handed." Andrew said slowly.

Spike looked at him and then at Lisa who smiled. "I guess we could use a demon expert."

A huge smile crossed Andrew's face. "I will serve you forever, captain." He stood. "I better go call Buffy and let her know what's going on." He looked around. "Where's your phone?"

"Don't have one." Spike said.

"Okay, I'll go use a pay phone." He walked out of the apartment.

"That's going to cost him a fortune." Lisa laughed. "Should we start any kind of training tonight?"

Spike shook his head and stood up. "We all need some rest. We'll start tomorrow. You should go home."

Lisa looked down.

"Do you have a home?" He asked noticing her discomfort.

"I'm kinda in between homes at the moment." She said.

Spike walked over to a closet and pulled out a pillow and blanket. "You can stay here."

"On the couch?" She asked.

"Either that or give Andrew the couch and you can sleep on the floor."

"Couch is great."

Spike started towards his room.

"Hey, Spike."

He turned to look at Lisa.

"Sorry about the punching and stuff last night." She smiled, a little embarrassed.

"Don't worry about it."

He walked into his room and lay down on his bed fully clothed. He had no idea what was going to come next, but he knew that it would be interesting.


End file.
